This past weekend’s Saskatchewan NDP convention saw the first debate of the current leadership campaign between Ryan Meili and Trent Wotherspoon. And while a single debate early in the race likely won’t play a large role in deciding the outcome, it certainly made clear that NDP voters will enjoy a choice between two candidates who are more than qualified for a leadership role.

Meili’s appeal has long been based on a combination of policy vision and storytelling — which has served him particularly well in comparison to politicians more inclined toward talking points and platitudes. But this time, his growing comfort level extended to matching wits with a professional comedian in moderator Steve Patterson. And he managed to draw laughs without sacrificing any of his usual policy depth, while making effective use of the debate format at every turn.

As in the 2013 leadership campaign, Wotherspoon wasn’t quite able to match Meili’s strengths in those areas, and he stuck somewhat more to a script. But he too has shown plenty of growth since the previous campaign — and the best indication of his progress came in what figured to be the debate’s most difficult exchange.

One of the most significant distinctions between the candidates has been Meili’s early promise to forgo corporate and union donations — and particularly his challenge to Wotherspoon to do the same.

In a leadership race where both candidates have rightly spoken strongly in favour of eliminating those types of donations from our political system generally, the appeal of agreeing to forgo them as a matter of principle has been obvious. And in the short term, the easy way out for Wotherspoon on the issue would have been to accede to Meili’s request.

But that could foreseeably result in significant side effects for a candidate who seems likely to attract a strong share of those types of donations — particularly given that he’s currently trailing in the fundraising department.

Instead, Wotherspoon was able to find and hold some solid ground of his own on the issue, arguing against unilateral disarmament in light of the rules still in place, while noting that the cost of trying to follow the same principles in a general election against a corporate-funded opponent would be unacceptably high.

Of course, it helped that Wotherspoon was able to anticipate that particular line of questioning based on Meili’s early positioning — meaning that his answers were likely evidence of planning rather than improvisation. And with both candidates having proven their effectiveness at developing and promoting positive visions, the debates yet to come may be most significant in how they test the candidates’ ability to deliver and respond to the type of sparring expected between party leaders.

(On that front, it bears mention that Wotherspoon used his sole opportunity to ask a question to highlight a policy proposal which proved entirely non-controversial.)

To be clear, the campaign likely won’t (and shouldn’t) veer far from the upbeat mood of this weekend. Both Meili and Wotherspoon have long been defined by positive themes and can-do personalities — and the first debate offered an indication as to how both candidates can shine by playing to their strengths.

But as the campaign develops, there will be a need to draw some sharper contrasts between the candidates — to ensure their leadership skills are tested and honed, and to provide an outlet for the team-based sentiments of supporters in a close two-candidate race. And the candidates’ ability to highlight differences while sharing similar values and goals may play a crucial role in convincing voters faced with two strong choices.

Greg Fingas is a Regina lawyer, blogger and freelance political commentator who has written about provincial and national issues from a progressive NDP perspective since 2005.

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